People With Money
by Serena Bancroft
Summary: Jess's first solo case makes her more determined to stay away from one Don Flack. Part of 'Warmness on the Soul'.


**Title:** People With Money

**Summary:** Jess's first solo case makes her more determined to stay away from one Don Flack. Part of 'Warmness on the Soul'.

**Series:** Warmness on the Soul

**A/N:** Sorry for taking so freaking long to update. School has been crazy, and mock trial and volleyball take up a boatload of my time. Bold text is taken directly from the episode.

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

There was no real unprecedented event that led Benton to release Angell from their mentoring relationship. When a case was called in and a detective's presence requested, Benton waved his hand at her, saying, "You take this one." He hadn't even looked up from his crossword puzzle. "What's an eight letter word for a short story beginning with an 'A'?"

"You want me to go by myself?"

He spared Angell a glance before smacking himself in the forehead. "Anecdote!" She heard his pencil scribbling on the paper before he answered her. "Why, you got a problem with that?"

"No, sir."

"Then get lost. I've taught you enough," he said, immediately followed by a few muttered words and more pencil scratches on the paper.

Angell was still mildly confused. "Then I'm officially on my own now?"

He looked up again. "Yeah." Deadpanning.

She fought to suppress a smile. "Okay then." Remaining true to her etiquette, she stood, walking over to where he was sitting, and held out a hand. He looked at it like it was an uncooked piece of meat Angell was asking him to eat. "It was good working with you."

He shook her hand, "I doubt you really mean that, but truth be told, you'll be one helluva detective."

"Thanks, sir."

She began to walk away from his desk. "Hey, Angell." She turned turned back at the sound of her name, partially out of surprise. He always called her 'kid', never 'Angell'. "Stop calling me 'sir'."

She finally broke into a grin, "Okay, Benton."

** . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

Angell had just barely registered the fact that the victim had pillows on her hands when she heard voices from above her.

**"Detective Angell,"** Danny Messer acknowledged, somewhat wryly.

**"Messer,"** she greeted back, mimicking his tone, **"Doc."** Hawkes stood up on the balcony next to Messer, and Angell greeted him jointly.

**"What happened, I don't see Benton breathing down your neck. He take the training wheels off?"** Messer joked.

**"Am I all the way up here to bust my balls or to work, Messer?" **She threw back casually.

**"Oh, looks like Angell got her wings, huh?**" It was now Hawkes making a playful jab at the newly-solo detective, and she decided to not take the bait.

**"Give me a break," **she said with an eye roll. "How about you dorks do something productive and get down here?"

They smiled, and Angell was surprised Messer didn't make another joke, instead, they joined her downstairs without complaint next to the bruised girl in lingerie.

**"Anybody notice she's got a pair of pillows on her hands?"** Messer asked, deadpanning.

**"Don't look at me,"** Angell answered,** "I was always a couple years behind on fashion trends."**

**"What do we know?" **Hawkes asked, drawing their attention to the victim.

**"Vic's name is Vanessa May. All this glass and marble belongs to her,"** she said, thinking that the pillows that the victim wore on her hands were probably worth more than Angell's car if they were any indicator of the price of May's home. **"She lives alone between fiancees, no signs of forced entry or burglary."**

Hawkes crouched down next tot he body, gently moving the vic's head to one side. **"Contusions, possible fractures,"** he listed as he worked his way down the body, **"Significant amount of secondary trauma consistent with a beating. Danny," **he motioned to Messer to join him, **"gimme a hand, help me get these pillows off her."**

Angell eyed the pillows with contempt as Hawkes examined her hands, disappointed at the lack of trace. **"Thought if we had something it might explain her interesting taste in gloves."**

_Expensive 'intresting gloves',_ she thought, slightly bitterly. Hawkes determined she'd died less than four hours ago and in the same spot she was in now, and Angell took note of it, trying to ignore the ruined fortune lying at her feet. She'd worked on a city salary since her graduation from the Academy, and it was anything but rosy. Those pillows could have been gold bars as far as she was concerned.

**"Who found her?"** Messer asked.

**"Margo Demi. Claims the title of 'best friend'." **Angell doubted they were actually that, but answered his question. **"These girls are major players in the party circuit. Regulars in the post."**

**"All for being born rich," **Messer commented.

His comment reminded her of the destroyed pillows._ Focus, Jessica. _**"Margo came over to take Vanessa for a spa day."** Angell's tone indicated 'spa days' were pretty foreign territory for her. **"Found her like this."**

Hawkes went over to talk to Ms. Demi, and Angell hung next to the body with Messer. "Any theories?" she asked.

"About?"

"The pillows. Because I can honestly say, for once in my life, I have no theories."

Then, Hawkes came back, and he and Messer began processing. "I've got a few leads I need to chase down," Angell said, "Unless you have a very good reason for me gracing you with my presence, I'm leaving."

Messer chuckled as he took another picture of the bruises on the body, but it was Hawkes who answered, "We got everything covered here."

"Great. See you when I get something."

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

Angell typed out some DD5 forms on the computer, a small smile on her face. Her very first solo investigation had gone off without an aplomb- it was one of those cases they called 'high and tight'. It helped prove to some of the other detectives who were still on the fence about Angell joining homicide to come over to her side.

"Detective Angell," she looked up to the voice of Kaile Maka. The 5"4 Asian first-grade detective stood looking down on Angell, hands on her hips. Maka's impossibly small stature was not indicative of how menacing she could be around a perp. "You need a drink and paperwork can always wait," she said, gesturing at Angell's screen.

"But," she countered, "then you end up with a stack of papers to the ceiling. What then?"

"That's what Sunday nights are for, sweetheart," she answered with a wry smile.

Angell smiled, leaning back in her chair. "But I'm almost done," she said, almost whining.

"Too bad. We've got dates with a couple of martinis."

Angell finally surrendered. Maka would obviously not be taking no for an answer. "I've never been a martini girl," she said, grabbing her purse from where it lay beneath her desk. "I'm more the type who goes for shots." They walked out together, heading for their cars.

"Joe's," Maka said, confirming their meeting place. It was the bar that was closest to the precinct, and was a normal meeting place for drinks with colleagues. It was probably the only place in New York Jessica actually knew the location of- barring her apartment, the precinct, and that Starbucks. She was beginning to know most street names, but she was mostly still addressing things in lieu of their location to outstanding landmarks.

_It's right by that pond next to a Burger King. _

_Yeah that vacant building with that giant pothole across the street from that huge tree. _

_Its across the street from Starbucks. Oh there are a lot of those in this town? It's by that one Starbucks._

Yes, she'd made quite a fool out of herself trying to describe locations. She'd been to New York City many times before, but mostly as a tourist. Angell had never been concerned with learning street names or the popular vernacular for things.

Five minutes later, she parked just outside the front door of Joe's, and walked in right behind Maka.

Obviously wanting to annoy Jessica, she ordered two martinis.

"I hope those are both for you," Angell said, somewhat reproachfully.

"Nope," Kaile slid one over to her as she sat down on the bar stool. Maka took a giant swig of hers before setting it down again. "Now gimme the goods on you and Flack."

Angell groaned, letting her forehead fall to the bar with a thud. "Not you too." She had surprisingly not seen Flack all day. She hadn't been avoiding him, per se, but she wasn't seeking him out, either. Angell had appreciated his whole 'we're just friends' speech, but she cared too much about this job to let it go for a man. Even if he was the more attractive version of a Greek God.

"Me too what?" Maka asked innocently.

She raised her face to look at Kaile, mock innocence on the first-grade's face. "There is nothing going on between me and Flack!"

"Oh, c'mon! Every girl loves a man with battle scars. That plus delicious bod and eyes to die for, I can't blame you."

Angell finally relented, taking a non-ceremonious swig of the martini, vowing to finish it quickly so she could order something stronger. "Why does everyone think that? I mean, I've had drinks with him a couple times! And one case, and he was hardly even around- his doctors wanted him to take it easy," she told her, taking another gulp of the alcoholic beverage.

"Just the fact that you know that hints to-"

"Yeah, sure. Because I know his doctors warned him about too much work means I'm screwing him. Makes perfect sense," Angell answered sarcastically. She waved down the bartender. "A shot, please."

As soon as the tiny glass hit the bar, she downed it, liking the burn as the alcohol slid down her throat. "Now that," Angell said, gesturing at the empty glass, "is a drink." She ordered another.

"Maybe you should slow down, just a little bit."

"I hold my alcohol well, Maka. And that was only one."

"But back to the Flack subject-"

"Nope."

"You know, that's the second time tonight you've interrupted me, and-"

"I don't care," She said, feeling a little tipsy after Angell downed my next shot. She wondered briefly why that was, but didn't consider it long. "Because I am not going to talk about Don Flack."

"Just hear me out," Maka said, trying to finally get in a sentence. "Please?"

"Fine," Angell said, then ordered another shot.

She was about to take her third shot, but Maka took her arm, stopping the glass from reaching Angell's mouth. "Hey!" Jessica cried in protest.

"Don't get drunk on me and not remember this conversation." She teased the glass from my fingers, setting it back on the bar. "because you need to hear this and remember it."

"Okay," Angell said, voice a little overly-perky. She was feeling those shots. Jessica ignored the serendipity of that strange situation, usually it took quite a while to get remotely near tipsy, or drunk for that matter, for her.

Maka took Angell's upper arms, turning the younger detective to face her. "Don Flack is a good guy. If you don't go out with him get to know him. He can be a great friend when you give him the chance."

"Benton told me he's a bit of a womanizer," she said, managing to down the next shot without interruption.

"He likes the girls, heavy emphasis on the 'girl,' but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give him a chance."

"I'm going on record as saying I'm not going to date a coworker."

Maka held up her hands in a surrendering gesture, "I never said anything about dating."

"But I think you meant it."

She ordered her second martini and Angell ordered her fourth shot. "I guess I could be pushing you in the right direction."

"Well, who says it's the right direction?"

"Me. I've been in a room with the two of you, and I'm picking up on a major sex vibe," Maka said, taking a more conservative sip of her martini.

"'Sex vibes' don't necessarily mean good things, Maka. I've been hurt by men like him before and I don't plan on heading down that road again," she said, downing another shot.

"I'm not trying to push you into anything. Just helpful suggestions."

"And I appreciate it. I think it'd just be best for me to steer clear of him."

"But I'm saying you're wrong," Maka said. Angell opened her mouth in protest, but Maka silenced her. "Don't sleep with him. Or sleep with him. Do what you want. All I'm saying is that he's a good guy and a good friend, and don't shut him out."

"I feel like you're vouching for someone," Angell said wryly.

She winked. "Like I said, just helpful suggestions."

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

**Okay... Flack wasn't in this chapter :( sorry. I couldn't find a way to fit him in naturally. Plus, I am sad they let Maka disappear. I feel like she could've been a great character. Anyway, I hope you liked it. Please leave a review ;)**


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